1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to personal watercraft. More specifically, the present invention is related to maintenance centers that can house engine electronics within the personal watercraft. The present invention includes a maintenance center formed of flotation foam for personal watercraft.
2. Description of Related Art
Personal watercraft (PWC) have become increasingly popular in recent years. A personal watercraft, also known as a xe2x80x9cjet skixe2x80x9d typically has a bottom hull, handle bars for steering, a tunnel within the bottom hull, a jet pump located within the bottom tunnel, and an engine within the hull under the top deck for driving the jet pump. The jet pump typically pulls in water from the front of the tunnel under the boat, and discharges the water at high velocity through a steerable nozzle at the rear of the boat. The handlebars are typically coupled to the nozzle, which is the steering mechanism for the personal watercraft. The watercraft commonly has a straddle-type seat and foot wells disposed on either side of the seat.
Personal watercraft typically have a top deck affixed to a bottom hull. The PWC has a shroud mounted in front of the driver on top of the top deck to house the steering column and some instruments. A front portion of the top deck includes a hinged cover or xe2x80x9chood.xe2x80x9d The underside of the hood can include a gasket or a grommet that attempts to provide a watertight seal between the hood and the top deck. The hood typically covers either a storage bin or an engine access port.
Present watercraft often have the battery and the electronic equipment located within the watercraft, with little thought as to the optimal location. Electronic components can be positioned in several different locations within the watercraft hull, making troubleshooting and maintenance difficult. The components can be particularly difficult to reach while the boat is out on the water.
Present watercraft often have the battery and other components secured directly or indirectly to the hull with fasteners rigidly connected to the bottom hull or top deck. Such rigid fasteners can include fasteners connected at hard points to the bottom hull, or other fasteners, either rigid or non-rigid, coupled to the fasteners coupled to the hull. The rigid connections can transmit vibration from the water pounding against the hull to the battery and other electronic components. This vibration may shorten the life of the components. Connecting the devices, directly or indirectly, to hard mounting points on the hull adds expense to the manufacturing process in hardware costs, number of parts, and complexity of manufacturing.
What would be desirable is a personal watercraft that provides easy access to most or all electronic components in a single location. What would also be desirable is a personal watercraft that allows for easier manufacturing, and does not require any hard mounting to secure the electronics to the watercraft.
The present invention provides a jet propelled personal watercraft including a hull, the hull having a bottom hull and a top deck secured over the bottom hull, the hull defining an engine compartment sized to contain an internal combustion engine for powering a jet propulsion unit. The personal watercraft also includes a jet propulsion unit including a steerable water discharge nozzle. The top deck can have a raised, longitudinally extending seat adapted to accommodate an operator in straddle fashion.
The personal watercraft further includes a foam maintenance center that can include a foam piece having cavities therein for housing the battery and other engine electronics. The battery, engine capacitor, any engine electronics for fuel injection, and other devices can all be located near each other in a single, accessible, vibration isolated environment in some embodiments. The foam piece can be formed of a closed cell foam and is preferably formed of floatation foam.
The personal watercraft preferably includes the battery at least partially contained within the battery cavity, and the engine control electronics box at least partially contained within the engine control electronics box cavity.
The foam can include at least one hole entirely through the foam from top to bottom, and can have at least one strap disposed through the at least one hole for securing the battery, the engine control electronics box, the engine capacitor, or other device to the foam. The strap can have free ends secured together to secure the battery to the foam using hook and loop type fasteners. In a preferred personal watercraft, the foam is not mechanically secured to the bottom hull using any fasteners that penetrate into the bottom hull. The foam can be shaped to match the inner contours of at least part of the hull.
The present invention includes a housing for electronic equipment in a personal watercraft, the housing comprising a foam piece adapted to be disposed within the hull, the foam piece having at least one battery cavity formed therein adapted to at least partially contain a battery, the foam piece having at least one engine electronics control box cavity adapted to at least partially contain an engine electronics control box. The housing foam can be a closed cell foam, preferably a closed cell flotation foam. The foam can include at least one hole entirely through the foam, and can have a securing strap disposed through the hole for securing devices to the foam. Straps can be securable upon themselves using hook and loop type fasters along the strap free ends. The foam can be shaped to match the contours of a personal watercraft bottom hull interior.
The present invention also includes a method for housing engine electronic equipment in a personal watercraft having a top deck secured to a bottom hull to form a hull interior within, the method comprising providing the personal watercraft and providing a foam piece adapted to be disposed within the hull interior space, the foam piece having at least one battery cavity formed therein adapted to at least partially contain a battery. The foam piece can also have at least one engine electronics control box cavity adapted to at least partially contain an engine electronics control box. The method also includes placing the foam piece within the hull. The method can include at least partially inserting the battery in the battery cavity and at least partially inserting the engine control electronics box in the engine control electronics box cavity. The method preferably includes securing the foam piece to the bottom hull not using fasteners that penetrate into the hull.
The present invention includes a jet-propelled personal watercraft comprising a hull including a bottom hull and a top deck secured to the bottom hull, the hull defining an engine compartment sized to contain an internal combustion engine for powering a jet propulsion unit, the jet propulsion unit including a steerable water discharge nozzle, the top deck having a raised, longitudinally extending seat adapted to accommodate an operator in straddle fashion. The watercraft can also include a battery secured to the personal watercraft, wherein the battery is secured without either directly or indirectly securing the battery to fasteners that are rigidly connected to either the hull or top deck. A preferred watercraft has the battery secured in place without being secured either directly or indirectly to fasteners that penetrate into the hull or top deck. Such a watercraft can include a foam piece disposed within the hull, the foam piece having at least one battery cavity formed therein adapted to at least partially contain a battery.